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This made it a whole lot easier for the two men to shake their fists and point their fingers at each other when they argued on the phone over leasing terms.

“They were garbage leases,” Geraghty said. “Garbage.”

Geraghty was among a group of Beaufort County Republican self-described “nerds” who I had lunch with recently. During lunch, we did one of the two things that conversational etiquette dictates we shouldn’t: We talked politics.

If Trump gets the nomination, I will resign from the party.

Richard Geraghty, joking

“If Trump gets the nomination,” Geraghty said, “I will resign from the party.”

“You didn’t hear that,” Jim Riordan, of Bull Point and chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, told me, laughing.

“I could be persuaded,” Geraghty said, also laughing … kind of.

On Saturday, Beaufort County Republican Party members — and those who want to weigh in on the Republican race — will choose their candidate for United States president in the South Carolina primary.

On Sunday, Beaufort County Republicans Party members will rest.

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For a little while anyway, maybe just long enough to catch their breath — after all, there’s still several months to go in the 2016 election. If the lead-up to the primaries, which don’t end till June, has been any indication, everyone is going to need to reserve some mental energy for November.

The South Carolina Republican Primary is an important one in the party’s nomination process. The state’s array of conservative viewpoints is considered representative of Republican voters nationally. And the primary is thought to be a “firewall” that stops any momentum gained thus far from charismatic characters.

Whoever wins here will most likely go on to the national election.

At least that’s what the past tells us, but let’s face it, this election has been writing its own history.

For the past week and a half, the remaining Republican candidates have made their rounds throughout the state with five of the six making stops in the Lowcountry, where party members and Republican clubs have worked overtime in support of the visits and to keep people engaged in the party and the issues.

They’re excited for the state primary, of course.

“But I’m more excited for the 21st,” Riordan said. “I’m ready for the herd to move on.”

At times over the past six months, the Republican field of candidates has numbered 17.

There is one word that kept coming up to describe this year’s election during our lunch: weird.

Regardless, it might just be the perfect election for those who enjoy the sport of politics, who like nothing more than to get coffee with friends and discuss the players, the strategy, the history, the predictions.

My lunchmates were these people.

“I equate a political debate to the Super Bowl,” said Sarah Kimball, of Bluffton and vice president of the Greater Bluffton Republican Club. “I literally clear my schedule. It’s an appointment on my calendar.”

Kimball is 22 but is unlike a lot of her generation. For instance, don’t ask her about the Kardashians. She knows absolutely nothing.

People my age would rather talk about when Kourtney Kardashian got married

Sarah Kimball, vice president of the Greater Bluffton Republican Club

“People my age would rather talk about when Kourtney Kardashian got married,” she said.

“Er ... Kourtney’s never been married,” I told her.

She covered her face and laughed.

“See?”

Oh, I saw.

Get Kimball talking about the 2016 presidential election, though, and she can hold her own. She is trying to stay away from Twitter and Facebook because it can start unnecessary arguments.

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“We have to get this right,” Riordan said. “Never in my life did I think I’d see this country trend toward socialism the way it seems to be.”

The group said they’ll throw their support behind whoever gets the national nomination, but they want someone who can beat Hillary Clinton, the candidate they presume will get the Democratic nomination.

“Hillary, actually, is the most interesting story in this election,” Chuck Newton of Dataw Island said.

About Liz Farrell

Columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell has lived in the Lowcountry for 12 years, but grew up in Brookline, Mass., just outside of Boston. She graduated with a degree in political science from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, and enjoys the beach, reading and people with contagious laughs. She pronounces all her R's.